Bath magic

One of Owl’s simpler rules of life applies equally to knitting: A warm sudsy bath never hurt anything.

For several too many months, my Ritzy mitts, knitted in Briar Rose Fibers Glory Days ~ the-skein-that-would-not-end ~ have been sitting in time out. BFL was the March wool-of-the-month. These got thumbs months ago. Four teensy little ends to be weaved in was all that was left. Except for the ladders. I mean honkin’ big ladders.

I knit everything on circular needles, and for things in the round, use either the magic loop technique, or Melissa Morgan-Oakes‘ two-at-a-time method. And for the life of me, I cannot explain how it is that both mitts had ladders on both sides that were big enough for me to step through. I tugged and fiddled with a crochet hook to no avail.

Ritzy in Glory Days BFL

Finally, more months later, I gave up and decided to let warm water and Eucalan do the work.

I was right – the bath relaxed the fibers significantly. Enough so that:

a) they actually fit an adult hand and

b) the ladders are evident only to me.

Blocked Glory Days Snapdragon Tam

Cross one more FO off the list. These mitts will become a teacher holiday gift. Two sets of mitts to go to keep toddler teachers’ hands warm and fingers free for all those little zippers.

Oops ~ in adding links here, it appears that I neglected to post

Snapdragon Tam

a finished photo of the Glory Days Snapdragon Tam. (The color is true in the blocked shot. For some reason, the daylight in this modeled photo refused to be color-corrected.) Another perfectly written Ysolda Teague pattern. A delightful experience with beautiful Bluefaced Leicester as part of the Knitter’s Book of Wool wool-along.

So from that one 500-yard skein, there was also an Ivy Vines cowl ~ and there’s still enough yarn left for another set of mitts. Talk about knitting-bang-for-the-buck!

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